At no point, do we get a clear picture. How do you define identity? Is it the language? Is it the people? Or, is it the way people do things in a culture? The 80s were a heady decade. After the Cultural Revolution, things were going to get better. Then, came the crackdown in the 90s. So it was with the American expatriates. They went in hopes of utopia and freedom to a China they imagined to be a good place to be in the 80s. Some returned in the 90s. They talked of the freedom to create. Despite the Communist regime in power, there was a lot that could be done (as long as the authorities didn't specifically forbid it). But, they also talked of smog--a city so heavily polluted that people were used to not being able to see across to the other side of their roads! This is not so uncommon in third world countries, but things are changing! Mukul Khurana